Will Afghanistans Military Ever Be Fit to Fight?

[msr]

When a fuel tanker overturned on Highway 1 outside Kandahar earlier this year, the villagers saw it as a gift from Allah. They flocked to the leaking tanker with pots, pans, even plastic bags, to steal the leaking gasoline. Several Afghan army jeeps screeched up, and the soldiers jumped out, pushing away the villagers. But not to protect the fuel: the Afghan soldiers simply wanted it for themselves.

At a nearby base, American and Afghan officers were watching the scene from a guard tower. Outraged by the looting, an Afghan captain named Nasser grabbed his M-16 and charged out to confront the soldiers. When the soldiers argued back, the captain fired a few warning shots. A stray bullet sparked the gasoline, and the tanker exploded into a colossal fireball. The smoke clouds, U.S. Lieutenant Rajiv Srinivasan later blogged, "blackened the sky like a tornado moving from the ground up.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1993886,00.html#ixzz0qUJ2KAAQ

 

[Jungelism]

When a fuel tanker overturned on Highway 1 outside Kandahar earlier this year, the villagers saw it as a gift from Allah. They flocked to the leaking tanker with pots, pans, even plastic bags, to steal the leaking gasoline. Several Afghan army jeeps screeched up, and the soldiers jumped out, pushing away the villagers. But not to protect the fuel: the Afghan soldiers simply wanted it for themselves.

At a nearby base, American and Afghan officers were watching the scene from a guard tower. Outraged by the looting, an Afghan captain named Nasser grabbed his M-16 and charged out to confront the soldiers. When the soldiers argued back, the captain fired a few warning shots. A stray bullet sparked the gasoline, and the tanker exploded into a colossal fireball. The smoke clouds, U.S. Lieutenant Rajiv Srinivasan later blogged, "blackened the sky like a tornado moving from the ground up.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1993886,00.html#ixzz0qUJ2KAAQ

What wonderfully positive news at the time some corners are reporting that Cameron will pull HMAF out of Afghan soon...ish.

 

[Disco]

You need to apply context, your judging the entire scenario by our standards, standards that have been developed over the last 300 years.

It is going to take years of stability and some form of prosperity for any kind of reaction outside of every man for himself.

 

[msr]

What wonderfully positive news at the time some corners are reporting that Cameron will pull HMAF out of Afghan soon...ish.

Yups, "it's a broken 13th century country" and I think Dr Fox is about 200 years ahead of reality...

 

[TamH70]

Nope. Simples. Makes me wonder sometimes why I was so annoyed about what the Russians were doing to em back in the Eighties. The Afghantsi must be pissing themselves laughing at us now. Still, doesn't look like it will be long until Pakistan goes the same way, and when it does, the new owners will have access to nuclear weapons.

OOPS.

Tam

 

[Barrack Room Lawyer]

Nope. Simples. Makes me wonder sometimes why I was so annoyed about what the Russians were doing to em back in the Eighties. The Afghantsi must be pissing themselves laughing at us now. Still, doesn't look like it will be long until Pakistan goes the same way, and when it does, the new owners will have access to nuclear weapons.

OOPS.

Tam

I bet we still keep paying them foreign aid money!

 

[beemer007]

Nope. Simples. Makes me wonder sometimes why I was so annoyed about what the Russians were doing to em back in the Eighties. The Afghantsi must be pissing themselves laughing at us now. Still, doesn't look like it will be long until Pakistan goes the same way, and when it does, the new owners will have access to nuclear weapons.

OOPS.

Tam

I bet we still keep paying them foreign aid money!

My bold: Yes, that part of the situation will concern many also, when the likelyhood of a drawdown timetable for withdrawing troops is actually being discussed in real time,

Considering the economic mess the UK is currently in once troops do start to come back how much funding will still carry on? the sceptic in me says it won't be lowered for some time,

Surely priorities should be focused on the UK in regards to fiscal issue's, Oversea's aid to India & Afghan is all well & good when the country can afford it but in reality the British public are not happy on the issue of DFoD when their own services are struggling fiscally!

 

[Sid_Viscose]

When the Soviet Army left in 1989 the conventional wisdom was that President Najeebollah would soon be defeated. In fact he survived more than 3 years in power. When Najeebollah eventually fell, it was because General Dostum staged a coup against him not because the mujahadeen clients of the west and ISI were capable of toppling him.
During those 3 years the Afghan army held the ring very successfully. The ANSF had 300,000 people, more than 150,000 of them in the army. Nato has not yet matched that end state, yet has already had longer to do it than the Russians did.
I wouldn't mock the ANA too much or over-rate our own efforts...

 

[therealbigdizzle]

Hey I thought Hermann dropped a Smartie on the gas truck?

No that was when Terry beheaded the driver.

And then ranted that ISAF blowing it to pieces was 'heavy handed'